Lebanon's president has named moderate pro-Syrian lawmaker Najib Mikati as prime minister, breaking a political deadlock and reviving chances for holding parliamentary elections next month.
The elections are crucial for the opposition, which backed the Harvard-educated millionaire businessman in an effort to end the impasse in forming a government and open the way for the balloting that many believe will end Damascus' hold on parliament.
The legislature's term expires at the end of May.
The US has increased pressure on Lebanon to hold the vote without delay. The focus now should be on holding "free elections as soon as possible on schedule," US Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman said after meeting with Foreign Minister Mahmoud Hammoud earlier Friday.
Mikati's appointment came two days after Prime Minister-designate Omar Karami quit following several weeks of failed efforts at forming a government.
Mikati, 49, who was first elected to parliament in 2000, has recently distanced himself from the pro-Syrian camp. He still maintains business ties to Syria as well as a personal relationship with Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Mikati boycotted Karami's ill-fated consultations to form a Cabinet last month in parliament. Instead, he prayed at the nearby grave of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, whose Feb. 14 assassination was the catalyst for massive anti-Syrian protests and international pressure that forced Syria to begin withdrawing its army from Lebanon.
Mikati served as Hariri's minister of public works and transport. He is a Sunni Muslim -- as all prime ministers must be under Lebanon's sectarian-based political system, which also allots the presidency to a Maronite Christian and the parliament speaker's post to a Shiite Muslim.
"We will be the symbol of moderation and national unity," Mikati declared from the presidential palace after his appointment.
"I say it from here that the hand is extended and the heart is open so that we all cooperate in the Lebanese interest," he said.
His first act after leaving the palace was to pray at Hariri's grave in downtown Beirut, saying he came to "show loyalty to the great martyr."
Mikati was appointed after President Emile Lahoud polled legislators or their representatives from the 128-member parliament, winning the backing of anti-Syrian opposition members and some of the ardent supporters of Syria.
Rafik Shalala, Lahoud's spokesman, said the president consulted with the speaker of parliament about the results and then summoned Mikati to the presidential palace and asked him to form the next government.
Mikati said he gained the support of 57 lawmakers. Another 38 backed his opponent, staunchly pro-Syrian Defense Minister Abdul-Rahim Murad, officials said. Seven others did not name a candidate.
The government's main task is to steer an electoral bill through parliament and call an election. Opposition figures have said they feel confident the vote will end pro-Syrian dominance of the legislature.
Mikati set three main priorities: parliamentary elections; following up on an international investigation into Hariri's assassination; and reviving the flagging economy.
Drug lord Jose Adolfo Macias Villamar, alias “Fito,” was Ecuador’s most-wanted fugitive before his arrest on Wednesday, more than a year after he escaped prison from where he commanded the country’s leading criminal gang. The former taxi driver turned crime boss became the prime target of law enforcement early last year after escaping from a prison in the southwestern port of Guayaquil. Ecuadoran President Daniel Noboa’s government released “wanted” posters with images of his face and offered US$1 million for information leading to his capture. In a country plagued by crime, members of Fito’s gang, Los Choneros, have responded with violence, using car
OVERHAUL: The move would likely mark the end to Voice of America, which was founded in 1942 to counter Nazi propaganda and operated in nearly 50 languages The parent agency of Voice of America (VOA) on Friday said it had issued termination notices to more than 639 more staff, completing an 85 percent decrease in personnel since March and effectively spelling the end of a broadcasting network founded to counter Nazi propaganda. US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) senior advisor Kari Lake said the staff reduction meant 1,400 positions had been eliminated as part of US President Donald Trump’s agenda to cut staffing at the agency to a statutory minimum. “Reduction in Force Termination Notices were sent to 639 employees at USAGM and Voice of America, part of a
Canada and the EU on Monday signed a defense and security pact as the transatlantic partners seek to better confront Russia, with worries over Washington’s reliability under US President Donald Trump. The deal was announced after a summit in Brussels between Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa. “While NATO remains the cornerstone of our collective defense, this partnership will allow us to strengthen our preparedness ... to invest more and to invest smarter,” Costa told a news conference. “It opens new opportunities for companies on both sides of the
The team behind the long-awaited Vera Rubin Observatory in Chile yesterday published their first images, revealing breathtaking views of star-forming regions as well as distant galaxies. More than two decades in the making, the giant US-funded telescope sits perched at the summit of Cerro Pachon in central Chile, where dark skies and dry air provide ideal conditions for observing the cosmos. One of the debut images is a composite of 678 exposures taken over just seven hours, capturing the Trifid Nebula and the Lagoon Nebula — both several thousand light-years from Earth — glowing in vivid pinks against orange-red backdrops. The new image
RSS